The first three volumes of The Best Horror of the Year have
been widely praised for their quality, variety, and comprehensiveness. Editor
Ellen Datlow has now explored the entirety of the diverse horror market,
distilling it into the fourth anthology in the series and providing an overview
of the year in terror.

Fear is the oldest human emotion, the most primal. We like
to think we’re civilized. We tell ourselves we’re not afraid. And every year,
we skim our fingers across nightmares, desperately pitting our courage against
shivering dread.

In one story, a paraplegic millionaire hires a priest to exorcise his
pain; in another, a failing marriage is put to the ultimate test. In other stories hunters become the hunted
as a small group of men ventures deep into a forest; a psychic struggles for
her life on national television; a soldier strikes a grisly bargain with his
sister’s killer; ravens answer a child’s wish for magic; two mercenaries accept
a strangely simplistic assignment; and a desperate woman in an occupied land makes
a terrible choice.

What scares you? Horror wears new faces in these
carefully selected stories. The details may change, but the fear remains. With
tales from Laird Barron, Stephen King, John Langan, Peter Straub, and many
others, The Best Horror of the Year,
Volume Four provides the petrifying horror fans of the genre have come to
expect—and enjoy.

Download and start listening now!

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Quotes & Awards

“These eighteen pieces, all originally published in 2011,
show that dark fantasy and horror retain their power to instill dread and fear
in readers.…Genre aficionados should enjoy the variety of stories in this
sampling of today’s best horror writers.”

Library Journal

“The variety of concepts and styles on display and Datlow’s comprehensive introduction will please horror readers of all stripes.”

Other Titles by Ellen Datlow:

About the Author

Ellen Datlow has been editing science fiction, fantasy, and horror short fiction for over thirty-five years. She currently acquires short fiction for Tor.com. In addition, she has edited more than ninety anthologies, including The Best Horror of the Year series, Fearful Symmetries, The Doll Collection, The Monstrous, and Black Feathers. A multiple award winner for her work, Datlow is a recipient of the Karl Edward Wagner Award, given at the British Fantasy Convention for “outstanding contribution to the genre,” and has been honored with Life Achievement Awards by both the Horror Writers Association and the World Fantasy Convention. She lives in New York.

About the Narrators

Meredith Mitchell is an actress who has performed in such films as Mona Lisa Smile and The Reunion, on stage with Shakespeare & Company and the New Repertory Theatre, and on television on Good Morning America. She received her BA in psychology from Emory University and her MFA in acting from Brandeis University.

Rebecca Mitchell is a performance artist and classically trained vocalist, as well as a professional host, emcee, and personality. Her natural flair for the dramatic, coupled with her love of being in the studio, brought her to the world of narrating in 2013.

Michael Healy has appeared off Broadway and on
national television, most notably on Saturday Night Live for
three years, as well as in several national commercials. He continues to hone
his craft in Rhode Island, where he has won awards for acting. His audiobook
recordings include Mr. Midshipman Easy by Frederick
Marryat, The Collector of Lost Things by Jeremy Page,
and The Valley of Fear by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Stephen R. Thorne, eleven-time winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award for narration, is a professional actor and member of the resident acting company at Providence’s esteemed Trinity Repertory Company, where he has played Hamlet, Henry V, and Tom Joad.

Charlie Thurston is an actor and Earphones Award–winning narrator. He has appeared on stages across the country with Trinity Repertory Company, Chautauqua Theater Company, Creede Rep, and at Riverside Theatre and Redmoon Theater, among others. His favorite roles include Edgar in The Completely Fictional—Utterly True—Final Strange Tale of Edgar Allan Poe, Stephen in The Long Christmas Ride Home, Tuzenbach in The Three Sisters, and Tony in You Can’t Take It with You. He holds an MFA in acting from Brown University / Trinity Rep.

Lindy Nettleton is a professional actress and a registered nurse who was born in England and lived in Hong Kong, Singapore, Scotland, and various places in England before coming to the United States. Apart from acting and narrating audiobooks, she runs her own wellness business. She is now a US citizen and is happy to make Newport, Rhode Island, her home.

Charles Carroll is an actor and voice-over artist residing in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. He is an avid film buff and stays active in the local film community.

Shaun Grindell, actor and Earphones Award–winning narrator, was born and raised in Southampton, England. His training includes the Calland School of Speech and Drama and the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in London. He has been seen on stage in London and Las Vegas.

Angela Brazil is an AudioFile Earphones Award–winning narrator and a professional actor who is proud to be a long-standing member of the Resident Acting Company at Trinity Repertory Company. She also teaches at the Brown/Trinity Conservatory.

Fred Sullivan is an actor and an AudioFile Earphones Award-winning narrator. He has played over one hundred roles as an award-winning resident actor at Trinity Repertory Company in Providence, Rhode Island. He is resident director at Gamm Theatre and teaches acting at the Rhode Island School of Design.

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